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2004¦~12¤ë9¤é |
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1. MORE ON LEADING SIM TOOLS
What are the leading simulation tools on the market, and which
provide the best value for the dollar? "I am not looking for tools to
create demonstrations of software," says a reader. "I want to create
software simulations with interactivity so a user can go through the
steps required in a process, with multiple levels of feedback. I'm
also looking for tools with a relatively low learning curve."
We ran responses to this query in our September 28 and November 9,
2004, issues. Here are more:
The best simulation tools, says Gary Dickelman ( gdickelman@epsscentral.net ),
are those that can respond quickly to ever-changing applications with
simulations that are ...
o Of high-quality.
o Can truly support performance.
o Can be maintained with minimal effort.
o Can be deployed instantly to standard, low-cost platforms (e.g.,
Web servers).
o Require no plug-ins.
o Conform to SCORM, AICC and related reuse protocol (allowing
organizations to realize the value of their LMS investments).
o Carry a reasonable price tag.
o Ensure a substantial return on investment.
o Possess extensibility for contextualizing and otherwise embedding
simulation solutions into the live application space. ("The latter is the
most important in terms of supporting performance and ensuring
[the] effectiveness of simulations," Dickelman says.)
Which tools meet these criteria? Dickelman explored that very
[UTF-8?]question with several clients recently -簽 all of whom evaluated
a variety of tools (including Epiplex, On Demand Personal Navigator,
RWD InfoPak, IDT Learning, Macromedia Flash, Camtasia, RoboDemo and
others) through formal, corporate-sponsored initiatives.
"After exhaustive studies, pilot programs and measurements, my
clients chose the Epiplex suite (from Epiance Inc. in Milpitas,
Calif.)," says Dickelman. "This is a high-end set of tools that
competes partially in the space of the best-of-breed simulation
tools, but also includes a set of unique features (extensibility to
things like wizards and contextualization)."
According to Dickelman, his clients found the entry cost of Epiplex
to be "substantially lower" than the product's best-of-breed
competitors. Clients also liked the fact that Epiplex made it
"marginally faster" to create, maintain and deploy simulations, and
that the product has additional features such as WYSIWYG template editors
and language translators for control metadata.
In Dickelman's opinion, the hallmark of Epiplex appears to be its
mature capture technology. "Capturing best-practice processes in one
way or another is the trend in such tools (sometimes called
'scanning'). The idea is to automatically identify controls, control
metadata, location of controls and the like," he says.
"Epiplex provides the most comprehensive, non-intrusive and fastest
capture utility. It is the only such tool where the capture utility
is independent of the rest of the suite ... [and] ... several clients
have noted that what used to take them four hours to a day or more of
work using conventional simulation tools now takes them as little as
15 minutes using Epiplex. But, clearly, it is the complete
[UTF-8?]development cycle -簽 including maintenance and evaluation -簽 that
enjoys benefits from Epiplex, according to my clients."
Dickelman is president and CEO of EPSScentral LLC in Annandale, Va.
After trying and comparing two simulation products, Ann Yakimovicz's
( ayakimovicz@firstam.com ) organization selected VieweletBuilder
from Qarbon Inc. in San Jose, Calif. over Macromedia's RoboDemo for
"price, ease of use, and enthusiastic support from our IT
department." Because her organization doesn't write code, Yakimovicz
says it was important to find a tool that would keep the internal
programming staff happy. And, she says, "ViewletBuilder lets us
create executable files. We can put a finished simulation on CD for
account managers to take to clients. The account managers can use the
CD for a demonstration on their laptops, then leave the CD for the
clients to use on their own."
Pricing for ViewletBuilder Standard is $299; pricing for
ViewletBuilder Pro is $499.
Yakimovicz is training manager of operations at First American Flood Data Services in Austin, Texas. 11:25:46 AM 
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Manila's Birthday.
I was still living in Ahtens, GA, USA, and we had just survived the turn of the millennium. I have some fond memories of shops and supermarkets running short on toilet paper and drinking water ... which appeared to me as a somewhat natural extension of the behavioral patterns that the local population exhibited any time we had a snow warning for the area. Coming from Northern Bavaria, Germany, I always got some personal amusement out of the general state of paralysis that kicked in whenever we had 3 millimeters of snow on the ground in Athens. The number of car crashes surged noticeably, power supply was cut in some areas of the town, and classes at the Uni were cancelled on days that looked like a pretty normal day in March back home. And the few times it got below the freezing point people in some apartment complexes were seriously advised to keep their water running to prevent their pipes from freezing. Good fun! It sure is fun to use your Blog as a way-back machine as Lilia Efimova has put it recently. In January 2005 it will be 5 years of personal Weblog authoring in one way or the other. No wonder that I start to get tired of explaining the basics ... ;-) [Sebastian Fiedler] [Seblogging News]11:04:36 AM
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This post made me review my own history of engagement with Manila and personal Webpublishing. The oldest and totally unspectacular post on my first Manila site dates back to|
What do people do while watching TV?. TV viewing is most often paired with reading the mail by 73.9% of consumers, BIGresearch found. That's followed by using the Internet while watching TV, which was practiced by 62.9% of those surveyed. Reading a magazine while watching TV was done by 59.2% of respondents. And when it comes to choosing which channels to watch, 40.8% of consumers say they spend a larger percentage of time viewing cable television versus 37.5% of consumers who say they spend more time watching traditional... [AlwaysOn Network] 10:23:53 AM
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PalmSource to buy China MobileSoft for 1.6M shares. LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) - PalmSource Inc. on Wednesday said it agreed to acquire China MobileSoft in a move to gain direct access to the fast-growing Chinese wireless device market, marking a push into adopting Linux software for its products. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based maker of software for so-called "smart phones" and mobile devices said it would issue around 1.57 million shares of its common stock to buy China MobileSoft, based in Nanjing. PalmSource expects its acquisition... [AlwaysOn Network] 10:08:20 AM
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Last update: 2005/1/3; ¤U¤È 05:08:53 .
